(670 The Score) Throughout his football life, Ledarius Mack has had his superstar brother Khalil as a driving force.
Ledarius has looked to his older sibling and noticed a relentless determination.
"He just honestly, he has showed me what hard work is and never shy away from it," Ledarius said of Khalil. "Always embrace it. There are going to be those days when you're going to hit a wall. But he has showed me how to work through those things. He just gave me that mentality of just break through every door."
Ledarius attended a high school that didn't have a football program, so he instead focused on basketball. He picked up football at ASA College in Miami before transferring to Buffalo in 2017.
The younger Mack posted 11 sacks as a senior at Buffalo. That number surpassed Khalil's mark of 10.5 sacks as a Buffalo senior in 2013. Unlike Khalil -- who was selected fifth overall by the Raiders in 2014 -- Ledarius went undrafted.
Since the Bears signed Ledarius as an undrafted rookie linebacker out of Buffalo in late April, Khalil has been at his younger brother's side, guiding him toward his NFL dream.
Ledarius has made a strong impression on the Bears, something to consider as rosters are cut from the 80-man limit to 53 by Saturday afternoon.
"He's jumping out on film," Khalil said of Ledarius. "Very explosive. Very explosive. You could tell that he's talented. The thing that's going to affect that decision, it's gong to come down to special teams, how he'll be used out there or whatever that may be.
"I'm proud of him. He likes to make plays and I can only think it's got something to do with bloodline. I'm not going to take any credit."
Behind the elder Mack and Robert Quinn, the Bears are working to establish depth at outside linebacker. Veteran addition Barkevious Mingo seems set as the third edge rusher and will fill a role on special teams. Isaiah Irving is also part of the rotation, and rookie Trevis Gipson will get a shot.
Then there's Ledarius, a rookie who's still developing as a pass rusher with a terrific teacher driving him to be great.
Ledarius is out to show the Bears what he can become.
"Just a relentless player on the field," he said. "My main goal is to get what I want. And what I want is to make plays every time. Every play that's mine, if I can get it, it has to be mine. That's just what I want to put on tape, and that's what I want them to see."
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago's sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.
